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Our Bureau

Hyderabad , March 23

ALL the film exhibitors in the country, under a statutory obligation, are required to show documentary films before they screen regular films. But when did you last watch a documentary in a cinema? Even if they show, they repeat it for months.

Expressing concern over non-compliance or false compliance of this statutory obligation, Mr Devendra Khandelwal, President of Indian Association of Producers, Artists and Technicians of Short films and TV programmes, said widespread violation of this statutory obligation would threaten the very existence of documentary movement in the country.

Addressing a press conference here on Monday, he said the Supreme Court had clearly pronounced that it was the exhibitors' social responsibility to show documentaries to educate the people.

It also said the exhibitors could outsource documentaries from any source and not just the Films Division, a Government enterprise. The exhibitors needed to pay one per cent of their net collections to the documentary maker concerned.

But some suppliers, who didn't posses enough documentaries, were entering into agreement with cinemas, using loopholes in the law.

"They are distributing hundreds of prints of a few documentaries they posses and give certificates that those cinemas have met their obligations," he said.

Mr Khandelwal also runs Indian Infotainment Media Corporation (IIMC) that produced documentaries and television serials.

Running just one film for months went against the spirit of the apex court, he observed. It was necessary to screen a variety of films. He regretted that the licensing authorities (usually Commissioners of Police and District Collectors) did not have time and manpower to take suitable action.

Mr Khandelwal alleged that a film trade association in Andhra Pradesh too encouraged violation of the obligation by exhibitors.

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